diff --git a/pkg/rag/manager.go b/pkg/rag/manager.go
index ddc275bca..17e77675f 100644
--- a/pkg/rag/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/rag/manager.go
@@ -574,12 +574,25 @@ func (m *Manager) readFile(path string) (string, error) {
 	return string(data), nil
 }
 
-// GetAbsolutePaths converts doc paths to absolute paths
+// GetAbsolutePaths converts doc paths to absolute paths relative to basePath.
+// If basePath is empty (e.g. for OCI/URL sources), relative paths are resolved
+// against the current working directory.
 func GetAbsolutePaths(basePath string, docPaths []string) []string {
 	var absPaths []string
 	for _, p := range docPaths {
 		if filepath.IsAbs(p) {
 			absPaths = append(absPaths, p)
+			continue
+		}
+		if basePath == "" {
+			slog.Debug("Resolving relative path with empty basePath, using working directory", "path", p)
+			abs, err := filepath.Abs(p)
+			if err != nil {
+				slog.Warn("Failed to resolve absolute path, using as-is", "path", p, "error", err)
+				absPaths = append(absPaths, p)
+			} else {
+				absPaths = append(absPaths, abs)
+			}
 		} else {
 			absPaths = append(absPaths, filepath.Join(basePath, p))
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/rag/manager_test.go b/pkg/rag/manager_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2ebadd1df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/rag/manager_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package rag
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestGetAbsolutePaths_WithBasePath(t *testing.T) {
+	result := GetAbsolutePaths("/base", []string{"relative/file.go", "/absolute/file.go"})
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"/base/relative/file.go", "/absolute/file.go"}, result)
+}
+
+func TestGetAbsolutePaths_EmptyBasePath(t *testing.T) {
+	// When basePath is empty (OCI/URL sources), relative paths should be
+	// resolved against the current working directory instead of producing
+	// broken paths like "relative/file.go".
+	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	result := GetAbsolutePaths("", []string{"relative/file.go", "/absolute/file.go"})
+
+	assert.Equal(t, filepath.Join(cwd, "relative", "file.go"), result[0])
+	assert.Equal(t, "/absolute/file.go", result[1])
+}
+
+func TestGetAbsolutePaths_NilInput(t *testing.T) {
+	result := GetAbsolutePaths("/base", nil)
+	assert.Nil(t, result)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/rag/strategy/helpers.go b/pkg/rag/strategy/helpers.go
index ac34744a4..8b14f1632 100644
--- a/pkg/rag/strategy/helpers.go
+++ b/pkg/rag/strategy/helpers.go
@@ -60,6 +60,14 @@ func ResolveDatabasePath(dbCfg latest.RAGDatabaseConfig, parentDir, defaultName
 
 	// If it's a relative file path, make it absolute
 	if !filepath.IsAbs(dbStr) {
+		if parentDir == "" {
+			slog.Debug("Resolving relative database path with empty parentDir, using working directory", "path", dbStr)
+			abs, err := filepath.Abs(dbStr)
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to resolve absolute path for %q: %w", dbStr, err)
+			}
+			return abs, nil
+		}
 		return filepath.Join(parentDir, dbStr), nil
 	}
 
@@ -165,12 +173,23 @@ func GetParamPtr[T any](params map[string]any, key string) *T {
 	}
 }
 
-// makeAbsolute makes a path absolute relative to parentDir
-func makeAbsolute(path, parentDir string) string {
-	if filepath.IsAbs(path) {
-		return path
+// makeAbsolute makes a path absolute relative to parentDir.
+// If parentDir is empty (e.g. for OCI/URL sources), the path is resolved
+// against the current working directory.
+func makeAbsolute(p, parentDir string) string {
+	if filepath.IsAbs(p) {
+		return p
+	}
+	if parentDir == "" {
+		slog.Debug("Resolving relative path with empty parentDir, using working directory", "path", p)
+		abs, err := filepath.Abs(p)
+		if err != nil {
+			slog.Warn("Failed to resolve absolute path, using as-is", "path", p, "error", err)
+			return p
+		}
+		return abs
 	}
-	return filepath.Join(parentDir, path)
+	return filepath.Join(parentDir, p)
 }
 
 // EmitEvent sends an event to the events channel using non-blocking send
diff --git a/pkg/rag/strategy/helpers_test.go b/pkg/rag/strategy/helpers_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..019e1e858
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/rag/strategy/helpers_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package strategy
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/docker/docker-agent/pkg/config/latest"
+)
+
+// newDBConfig creates a RAGDatabaseConfig for testing via YAML unmarshaling.
+func newDBConfig(t *testing.T, value string) latest.RAGDatabaseConfig {
+	t.Helper()
+	var cfg latest.RAGDatabaseConfig
+	err := cfg.UnmarshalYAML(func(v any) error {
+		p, ok := v.(*string)
+		if !ok {
+			return nil
+		}
+		*p = value
+		return nil
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	return cfg
+}
+
+func TestMakeAbsolute_WithParentDir(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, "/parent/relative.go", makeAbsolute("relative.go", "/parent"))
+	assert.Equal(t, "/absolute/file.go", makeAbsolute("/absolute/file.go", "/parent"))
+}
+
+func TestMakeAbsolute_EmptyParentDir(t *testing.T) {
+	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	result := makeAbsolute("relative.go", "")
+	assert.Equal(t, filepath.Join(cwd, "relative.go"), result)
+}
+
+func TestResolveDatabasePath_EmptyParentDir(t *testing.T) {
+	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	result, err := ResolveDatabasePath(newDBConfig(t, "./my.db"), "", "default")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, filepath.Join(cwd, "my.db"), result)
+}
+
+func TestResolveDatabasePath_AbsolutePathIgnoresParentDir(t *testing.T) {
+	result, err := ResolveDatabasePath(newDBConfig(t, "/absolute/my.db"), "/parent", "default")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/absolute/my.db", result)
+}
+
+func TestResolveDatabasePath_RelativeWithParentDir(t *testing.T) {
+	result, err := ResolveDatabasePath(newDBConfig(t, "./my.db"), "/parent", "default")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/parent/my.db", result)
+}
+
+func TestMergeDocPaths_EmptyParentDir(t *testing.T) {
+	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	result := MergeDocPaths([]string{"shared.go"}, []string{"extra.go"}, "")
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{
+		filepath.Join(cwd, "shared.go"),
+		filepath.Join(cwd, "extra.go"),
+	}, result)
+}